Greetings

The year 2010 will be the 100th birth year of Akira Kurosawa.
He was born in the beginning of the20th century and past out before the 21st century.
He gave his life to film directing and his works still inspire many directors around the world.
He was able to depict the revolution of film making through his works.
Now that we have entered the 21st century, will his spirit be handed down to the young people of today?
The answer to this question only lies on our shoulders.
The aim of this AK100 Project is not only to look back at the wonderful works that Akira Kurosawa left behind, but to communicate his spirit to the young people of today, and to show them the beautiful “Kurosawa World” that exists in his films.

Project Summary

Title: THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF AKIRA KUROSAWA’S BIRTH

Date: May 2009 to December 2011

Area: North and South America, Europe, Asia

Places confirmed: Los Angeles, Monaco, Hong Kong, Hiroshima, Yamanashi, Hokutoshi.

Places planned: Russia, France, Korea, Italy.

Host: AK100 Project executive committee

Support: MLIT, Japan Tourism Agency

Cooperation: Varies in each country.

Supervision: Kurosawa Productions, AK100 Project executive committee.

AK100 Project Film Concert Conductor: Tomomi Nishimoto

Official Visual Designer: Jean Giraud Moebius, France

Main Events: Akira Kurosawa Exhibition, Noh performances, Film screening, Film concerts, Armor exhibition, Awa dance, other performances.

Involved artists

＞Tomomi Nishimoto　＞Yoshida Brothers



■Jean Giraud Moebius / AK100 official poster

　


Born in France in 1938. Animator. Had acquaintance with the painter Salvador Dali. A world known creator who contributed greatly to the art industry. Also known to have given great inspiration and influence to Hayao Miyazaki and Katsuhiro Otmo. In 1985, he was awarded by the government of France to be the most valuable contributor to the industry of graphic arts.


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■Tomomi Nishimoto

　

Ms. Tomomi Nishimoto is a graduate of the Osaka College of Music, where she received her Bachelor of Music in Composition. Upon graduation, Ms. Nishomoto went abroad to the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia and pursued further study in opera and symphony conducting. She is a recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan’s Internship in Arts and Music scholarship and Idemitsu Music Award.
As a talented conductor, Ms. Nishomoto has held various appointments in her career. From 2004 to 2006, she served as the Principal Guest Conductor for the St. Petersburg Mussorgsky State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. She has also served as the Chief Conductor and Artistic Director for Russian Symphony Orchestra of the Tchaikovsky Foundation from 2004 to 2007. Other accomplishment of Ms. Nishimoto’s during her time in Russia includes performance with the Moscow City Symphony Orchestra “Russian Philharmonic”. All these posts are seldom granted to those of non-Russian background.
Currently, Ms. Nishimoto is scheduled to act as the Principal Guest Conductor with the STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF RUSSIA (Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra) beginning this September. Also this year, she is scheduled to perform a concert with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, as well as making a foray into the United States by working with the American Symphony Orchestra. She is also scheduled to be promoted to be the Executive Producer of the Tokyo-To Hachioji-Shi Civic Center in Japan.

　Official site ： http://www.tomomi-n.com/


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■Yoshida Brothers



The Yoshida Kyōdai are Japanese musicians and have released several albums under the Domo Records internationally as the Yoshida Brothers.
They are a pair of brothers and performers of the traditional Japanese music style of Tsugaru-jamisen which originated in northern Japan. They debuted in 1999 in Japan as a duo playing the shamisen. Their first album sold over 100,000 copies and made them minor celebrities in Japan, a fact that surprised the Yoshida Brothers themselves. They have since attracted an international audience.
Their music has been a fusion of the rapid and percussive Tsugaru-jamisen style along with Western and other regional musical influences. In addition to performing songs that are only on the shamisen, they also use modern instruments such as drums and synthesizers.
The commercials for the Nintendo's Wii video game console that began airing in North America in November 2006 feature the Yoshida Brothers song, "Kodo (Inside the Sun Remix)."

　Official site ：　http://www.yoshida-brothers.jp/


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